


If Only There Was Something We Could Have Done

by NoisyNoiverns



Category: Jurassic Park (Movies), Mass Effect
Genre: Implied/Referenced Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-29
Updated: 2015-06-29
Packaged: 2018-04-06 18:10:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4231722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoisyNoiverns/pseuds/NoisyNoiverns
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Humans have managed to bring back dinosaurs, and Ambassador Udina is tasked with showing them off to a party of politicians and reporters. Turns out, turians and dromaeosaurs can establish rudimentary communications. Things go about as well as you would expect.</p>
            </blockquote>





	If Only There Was Something We Could Have Done

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by a love of dinosaurs, the general consensus that turian language probably sounds like dinosaur-speak, and a discussion with friends that went to its logical conclusion.

“Our best scientists have spent decades working on this,” Udina droned, leading the small party of councilors, select media representatives, and security along a path running next to a massive fence. “These creatures roamed the Earth over 71 million years ago. _Velociraptor_ -“

“ _Deinonychus_ ,” Valern muttered under his breath. “Can’t even get his own planet’s animals right, who let _him_ represent humanity…”

Udina just soldiered on like he hadn’t heard Valern. Which, in all honesty, he probably hadn’t; Valern had always been the quiet one. Tuning out the monotone buzz of Udina’s voice, he glanced around, tilting his head to shade his eyes against the midday sun. Funny, there was a distinct lack of crabby old turian next to him… He glanced back at the news media, but Sparatus wasn’t padding along next to his wife, and he certainly wouldn’t be up front near Tevos or Udina…

Then he noticed a familiar shade of brown lurking by the fence, and blinked to focus.

Sparatus was walking close to the fence, head turned to pay full attention to the feathery creature trotting on the other side of it. Both parties were tilting their heads this way and that, flexing talons, and puffing out chests in some sort of display Valern supposed he’d need a more evolutionarily similar brain to comprehend.

Then the _Deinonychus_ opened its mouth and let out a long, throaty croak.

The party stopped short, with a chorus of gasps and murmuring. The humans all drew back, and the others slowly followed.

Except the turians.

“Awww, that sounded like my daughter’s first words!” cooed one ambassador.

“Sounded like Zouklian to me,” said another.

“Zouklian? Are you kidding?” snorted a Spectre. “That’s closer to Parnitak. Zouklian’s vowel sounds are shorter than that.”

“Maybe we could teach it to speak. How smart _are_ these things?” asked the first ambassador. “They might be able to learn a turian language, with that vocal structure.”

Sparatus, still facing the _Deinonychus_ , chuffed. “It sounded _curious_ to me.” There was a rustle of branches, and he added, “And it looks like it called friends to help it.”

Sure enough, more of the little creatures emerged from the brush, padding forward slowly to join the first. For a few moments, the _Deinonychus_ and turians stood staring at each other, behavior mirroring what Valern had noticed Sparatus doing with the first _Deinonychus_ earlier- tilted heads, flexed talons, puffed-out chests.

Must have been a predator thing.

The two groups stared warily at each other for a while, then Sparatus daintily placed one foot forward, leaned towards the _Deinonychus_ , and let loose with a long, echoing bellow.

The pack jumped back with a chorus of shrieking squawks, tails waving back and forth. The turians behind Sparatus responded in kind, a cacophony of cries that caused a large portion of the rest of the group to cover their ears with their hands until Sparatus raised a hand to silence the turians. Valern frowned, then slowly made his way forward, weaving through the turians until he was next to his friend. “What was _that?_ ” he hissed.

Sparatus glanced at him and flicked a mandible upward. _“They understood,_ ” he breathed, and Valern saw a light in his eyes that normally only appeared when there was a chance to humiliate Udina.

On the other side of the fence, the pack quieted, and the first _Deinonychus_ approached again, tilting its head and letting out a distinctly non-threatening, almost curious croak. Sparatus answered with a throaty rumble and a series of clicks, crouching down slightly to be at a more even level with the creature. The _Deinonychus_ returned in kind, standing a bit straighter.

A familiar cough came from behind them, and Valern turned to see Udina approaching. “You can speak to these animals?” he asked, folding and unfolding his arms like he wasn’t quite sure where he was supposed to put them.

Sparatus glanced over his shoulder and flickered a mandible, then went back to his conversation with the _Deinonychus._ An ambassador caught the signal and gestured to catch Udina’s attention. “They’re making sounds similar to turian nestlings before they can talk,” she explained. “Baby turians use those sounds to tell their parents what they want. These creatures have a similar method of communication, so it’s really not that difficult to understand. For us, anyway. They’re like big babies to us.”

“I see.” Udina was quiet for a moment, then ventured, “Do you think you could communicate with the other species here? For example, the _Tyrannosaurus-_ ”

“I doubt it, sir,” the ambassador said bluntly. “This sort of communication relies on very specific tonal ranges, which other species may lack.”

As the ambassador started arguing dinosaur science with Udina, Valern looked back at the _Deinonychus_ pack. The leader was restless, shifting from foot to foot and looking past Sparatus with loud croaks. Other turians were starting to edge closer, forming a pack of their own as Sparatus responded with sounds that, alarmingly, didn’t sound even remotely close to soothing.

In the half-second it took to realize it sounded more like Sparatus was egging the creature on rather than trying to calm it, the lead _Deinonychus_ had hooked its fingers onto the fence and started scurrying up, the massive sickle-claws on its feet doing wonders for its grip. It paused at the electrified section at the top, then leapt to a tree behind it, climbed further up, and sailed over the fence. Its fellows soon followed, leading to a chorus of heavy thuds as the pack landed rather messily.

And then everyone started screaming.

The group split up, running off in every direction. The turians stayed put, watching the chaos, and Valern decided it would be safest to hide amongst them. A few others apparently had the same idea, as he saw a few flashes of blue scalps and colorful hair scattered among the brown and gray carapaces.

The _Deinonychus_ , now back on their feet, gathered back into their loose pack and set off at a quick clip. Valern looked at where their eyes were pointed, ready to shout a warning, then stopped himself.

Udina could stand a little time up-close-and-personal with a handful of dinosaurs.

He turned his back to the _Deinonychus_ , instead watching as Sparatus gestured for the Spectres among the turian pack to go out and collect those who had run off. “Let’s go, people,” Sparatus called, mandibles flared outward with authority. “Sooner we leave, sooner we can get word to the Alliance about what’s happened here.”

The group collectively winced as one of Udina’s screams was abruptly cut short. “Sir,” asked a reporter, “What about Ambassador Udina?”

Sparatus glanced at Valern, and they both shrugged. “If only there was something we could have done,” Valern deadpanned, a ghost of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Sparatus’ mandibles fluttered. “They were too fast. We couldn’t have helped.”

“But, sir-“

“ _We couldn’t have helped_ , Miss T’Rala. Let’s get going.”

Spectres fell into place around Valern and Sparatus, weapons drawn, and the group started walking back the way they’d came. Valern looked back just long enough to see a _Deinonychus_ with a bloodied face raise its head to watch them go.


End file.
